User:Asimsky/European Terrestrial Reference System 1989
The European Terrestrial Reference System 1989 (ETRS89) is a ECEF (Earth-Centered, Earth-Fixed) geodetic Cartesian reference frame, in which the Eurasian Plate as a whole is static. The coordinates and maps in Europe based on ETRS89 are not subject to change due to the continental drift.
The development of ETRS89 is related to the global ITRS datum, in which the representation of the continental drift is balanced in such a way that the total apparent angular momentum of continental plates is about 0. ETRS89 was officially born at the 1990 Firenze meeting of EUREF, following its Resolution 1 adopted in in , recommends that the terrestrial reference system to be adopted by EUREF will be coincident with ITRS at the epoch 1989.0 and fixed to the stable part of the Eurasian Plate. It will be named European Terrestrial Reference System 89 (ETRS89). ETRS89 coincided with ITRS at epoch 1989.0 (hence the name). Since then ETRS89 and ITRS diverge due to the continental drift at a speed about 2.5 cm per year. By the year 2000 the two co-ordinate systems differed by about 25cm[1].
It has been defined as connected to the stable part of the Eurasian plate and as identical to the ITRS at Epoch 1989.0 by EUREF. ETRS89 is the EU-recommended frame of reference for geodata for Europe.
ETRS89 plays the same role for Europe as NAD-83 for North America. NAD-83 is a datum in which the North American Plate as a whole is static. NAD-83 is used for mapping and surveying purposes in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
ETRS89, as well as WGS-84 and NAD-83, is based on the GRS80 ellipsoid.
References
- ^ GPS and Positioning Services FAQ, Q1, UK Ordnance Survey, accessed 2007-11-25
External links
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